Ascent of Mount San Antonio on 2006-08-06

Ascent Trip Report

I think I set a world record for shortest time to the summit of Baldy, when starting from Seattle!

I woke up at 4 AM, left home at 5 AM, and flew from Seattle to the Ontario, CA airport from 7 to 9:30 AM. I then rented a car, drove up to the parking lot for the ski area, and bought a one-way ticket for the chairlift, operating in summer for scenic rides. At the top of the chair it was extremely windy, and after dressing warmly I headed west along the scenic Devils Backbone trail. I was in relatively OK shape, having climbed a couple of Northwest volcanoes the previous week, so I made good time despite the fierce winds. There were a good number of other hikers on the trail, and the scenery from the narrow ridgecrest route was fantastic.

I was atop Baldy at 1 PM, 6 hours after leaving my house 1200 miles away. There was a pretty good crowd at the summit, and the views were expansive except for the smog and haze. After a rest I headed down the steep direct trail to the south. I am usually fairly fast on the downhills, but the steepness of this trail slowed me quite a bit. I cruised down into the bowl, took a rest at the cabin, and, after longer than I thought, came out to a closed dirt road I had to hike. Here I tried to cut off a switchback but found the steep sandy terrain in the brush to be treacherous. Once down at the main parking area I had a hot hike uphill on the road to the ski area parking and my rented car.

Once changed and unpacked I had to drive to San Diego for a business conference.

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

2564 ft / 781 m

Elevation Loss:

3884 ft / 1183 m

Quality:

5 (on a subjective 1-10 scale)

Route Conditions:

Road Hike, Maintained Trail, Bushwhack

Weather:

Pleasant, Windy, Partly Cloudy

Ascent Statistics

Elevation Gain:

2284 ft / 696 m

Route:

Devils Backbone

Trailhead:

Baldy Notch 7780 ft / 2371 m

Time Up:

1 Hours 30 Minutes

Descent Statistics

Elevation Loss:

3884 ft / 1183 m

Extra Gain:

280 ft / 85 m

Route:

Ski Hut Trail

Trailhead:

Ski Area Parking 6460 ft / 1969 m

Time Down:

2 Hours 0 Minutes

GPS Data for Ascent/Trip

GPS Waypoints - Hover or click to see name and lat/longPeaks: climbed and unclimbed by Greg SlaydenClick Here for a Full Screen MapNote: GPS Tracks may not be accurate, and may not show the best route. Do not follow this route blindly. Conditions change frequently. Use of a GPS unit in the outdoors, even with a pre-loaded track, is no substitute for experience and good judgment. Peakbagger.com accepts NO resposibility or liability from use of this data.